Odo Rumpf

Odo Rumpf (born 3 April 1961 in Leverkusen) is a German sculptor working in Cologne.^[1]

Odo Rumpf in his atelier "Odonien" (2008)

Life

After completing his studies of mechanical engineering at the RWTH Aachen,^[1][2][3] Rumpf studied with the German artist Thomas Virnich [de]^[1] for two years and has been working full-time as an artist since 1991.^[1]

Odo Rumpf creates sculptures from industrial finds,^[4] large kinetic objects, spatial installations and media sculptures.

Odonien

"Odonien" (English: Odonia) (2008)

In 2005,^[2][3] Rumpf converted a 5000 m^2[2] large vacant plot of land, located in Köln-Neuehrenfeld [de] between railway tracks^[5] at the periphery of the nearby Köln Betriebsbahnhof in the fan-out area of Köln Hauptbahnhof, into an open space studio site and atelier area which became known as "Freistaat Odonien" (English: Free State of Odonia).^[6][3] The site is also used by other international artists. Decorated with metal sculptures, Odonien hosts exhibitions, festivals as well as music,^[7] cinematic^[8] and dance^[9] events.^{[10][11][12][13]} The site and beer garden^[13] is also available to rent for events by third parties. Odonien is home to the semi-annual robot show "Robodonien",^{[14][15][16][17][18][3]} which has been compared with Burning Man.^[19] The nightly fleamarket Bazar de Nuit is also situated there.^[20] Since 2020, Odonien also hosts the inclusive RoboLAB festival.^[21] In November 2023, the festival was changed to also feature light installations under the name Odonien leuchtet. This is expanded into the arts/lights festival Robodonien leuchtet on two weekends in November 2024.

Exhibitions

Metal dinosaur in "Odonien" (2008)

An incomplete list of exhibitions:

• 1991 Neuer Aachener Kunstverein [de], Aachen, Germany
• 1992 Kunstverein Spektrum (exhibition "Moderne"), Leverkusen, Cologne, Germany
• 1993 Gallery Art 54 (exhibition "Strangers"), New York, USA
• 1994 ambiente 94, Designmesse, Ursuliniensäle, Innsbruck, Austria
• 1997 Turmart 97, Geldern, Germany
• 1998 Botanischer Garten Köln (with J. Röderer & V. Kiehn), Cologne, Germany
• 1999 ifficial art cologne, Cologne, Germany
• 2000 1. Kunstmeile, Oberhausen, Germany
• 2001 1. Art-Symposium, Algoz, Portugal
• 2002 Landesgartenschau, Monheim am Rhein, Germany
• 2003 Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Yaoundé, Kamerun
• 2004 Landesgartenschau, Trier, Germany
• 2005 Landesgartenschau, Leverkusen, Cologne, Germany
• 2005 Kulturinstitut, Gallery Phönix, Moscow, Russia
• 2006 Centro Espositivo Rocca Paolina, Perugia, Italia

Sculptures in public space

Solar bird (2011)

An incomplete list of sculptures in public space:

• 1993 "Drachenflügel" (dragon wings), Wasserturm, Stadt Geldern, Germany
• 1994 "hydro maszina", Großklärwerk Cologne-Stammheim, Germany
• 1999 "Solarvogel" (solar bird), Rheinpromenade Cologne, Germany
• 2001 Großskulpturen "Baustelle A", Businesspark Niederrhein, Germany
• 2001 "Orpheus", Anatomisches Institut der Uniklinik Köln, Cologne, Germany
• 2002 Skulpturenenvironment "Archos Palingenius", Stadt Monheim, Germany
• 2017 "Slinky", Dreiländergarten [de] in Weil am Rhein, Germany

Awards

A selection of awards:

• 1992 designs fiction, Impuls Design Förderung Berlin, Herbstmesse Frankfurt, Germany
• 1995 Lev-Kunst-95, Forum Leverkusen, Cologne, Germany
• 1997 Europäischer Solarpreis Kunst 1997 von Eurosolar e.V.
• 1999 Palais Allegria, Beaulieu sur Mér, France

See also

• Burning Man
• Frank Köllges [de]
• Kinetic art
• Robotic art
• Rube Goldberg machine
• Sound art